3D In vitro model of a functional epidermal permeability barrier from human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells.

ABSTRACT: Cornification and epidermal barrier defects are associated with a number of clinically diverse skin disorders. However, a suitable in vitro model for studying normal barrier function and barrier defects is still lacking. Here, we demonstrate the generation of human epidermal equivalents (HEEs) from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). HEEs are structurally similar to native epidermis, with a functional permeability barrier. We exposed a pure population of hESC/iPSC-derived keratinocytes, whose transcriptome corresponds to the gene signature of normal primary human keratinocytes (NHKs), to a sequential high-to-low humidity environment in an air/liquid interface culture. The resulting HEEs had all of the cellular strata of the human epidermis, with s

SUBMITTER: Petrova A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4050479 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature